US20130322142A1 - Multilevel power converter - Google Patents
Multilevel power converter Download PDFInfo
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- US20130322142A1 US20130322142A1 US13/484,517 US201213484517A US2013322142A1 US 20130322142 A1 US20130322142 A1 US 20130322142A1 US 201213484517 A US201213484517 A US 201213484517A US 2013322142 A1 US2013322142 A1 US 2013322142A1
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- Prior art keywords
- power converter
- power
- path
- switch
- coupled
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
- H02M7/00—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output; Conversion of dc power input into ac power output
- H02M7/003—Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
- H02M7/00—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output; Conversion of dc power input into ac power output
- H02M7/02—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output without possibility of reversal
- H02M7/04—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output without possibility of reversal by static converters
- H02M7/12—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output without possibility of reversal by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode
- H02M7/21—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output without possibility of reversal by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal
- H02M7/217—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output without possibility of reversal by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
- H02M7/00—Conversion of ac power input into dc power output; Conversion of dc power input into ac power output
- H02M7/42—Conversion of dc power input into ac power output without possibility of reversal
- H02M7/44—Conversion of dc power input into ac power output without possibility of reversal by static converters
- H02M7/48—Conversion of dc power input into ac power output without possibility of reversal by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode
- H02M7/483—Converters with outputs that each can have more than two voltages levels
- H02M7/4835—Converters with outputs that each can have more than two voltages levels comprising two or more cells, each including a switchable capacitor, the capacitors having a nominal charge voltage which corresponds to a given fraction of the input voltage, and the capacitors being selectively connected in series to determine the instantaneous output voltage
Definitions
- the invention generally relates to power conversion systems and, more particularly, to a multilevel power conversion system.
- HVDC high voltage DC
- Power converters are often used to convert AC power to DC power at the transmitting substation and to convert the transmitted DC power back to AC power at the receiving substation.
- these power converters have a modular multilevel structure where each phase has a stacked arrangement of modules.
- Some multilevel power converters comprise modules that consist of a half-bridge of two switches coupled across a capacitor.
- the switches in the half-bridge are often semiconductors such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs).
- IGBTs insulated gate bipolar transistors
- the IGBT chips in each module are mounted on a baseplate and heat sink with an electrically insulating substrate such as aluminum nitride for cooling.
- the thickness of the insulation substrate is determined based on the peak voltage present across the collectors of the switches. In embodiments that use a half-bridge across a capacitor, the full capacitor voltage may appear across the collectors of the switches, and thus insulation substrates having increased thicknesses are required. Increasing the thickness of the insulation substrate raises the thermal resistance and reduces the effectiveness of the heat sink and thus the performance of the power converter.
- control power required for the gating and sensing electronics is extracted from the capacitor coupled to the switches. Since the peak voltage at the capacitor is high, high voltage DC-DC converters are required to extract control power. Such high voltage DC-DC converters are bulky and increase system expense.
- an AC-DC power converter includes an electrical terminal comprising a positive node and a negative node.
- the power converter also includes a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node.
- the power converter also includes a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path.
- the power converter further includes a first electrical storage device situated in the first path and a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
- a power conversion system in another embodiment, includes phase units wherein each phase unit comprises an upper converter arm and a lower converter arm configured to convert power for a distinct phase of an input power wherein each converter arm comprises power modules coupled in series to each other and each module comprises a power converter.
- Each of the power converters includes an electrical terminal comprising a positive node and a negative node.
- the power converters also include a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node.
- the power converters also include a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path.
- the power converters further include a first electrical storage device situated in the first path and a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a conventional power converter comprising one capacitor and two switches in a half-bridge configuration.
- FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of a voltage waveform appearing across the collectors of the half-bridge switches in a conventional power converter when the switches are turned on and off alternatively.
- FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a conventional power converter wherein the two switches in the half-bridge configuration are coupled to a baseplate and a heat sink through an insulation substrate comprising a thickness T at the collectors of the switches.
- FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a power converter including two energy storage devices and two switches in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of the voltage appearing across the collectors of the two switches in a power converter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a power converter including two energy storage devices and two switches, wherein the two switches are coupled to an insulation substrate comprising a thickness Tnew at the collector of the switches in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 7 is a block diagram representation of a power conversion system including power converter modules wherein each of the power converter modules includes a power converter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- circuit circuitry
- controller processor
- processor may include either a single component or a plurality of components, which are either active and/or passive and are connected or otherwise coupled together to provide the described function.
- Embodiments of the present invention include a power converter that includes an electrical terminal including a positive node and a negative node.
- the power converter also includes a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node.
- the power converter also includes a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path.
- the power converter further includes a first electrical storage device situated in the first path and a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
- the power converter can be used for high power applications in which each of a plurality of power converters is configured to form a module and multiple modules are coupled together to form a modular stacked high power converter.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a conventional power converter 10 comprising one capacitor 12 and two switches 14 , 16 in a half-bridge configuration 18 .
- the half-bridge configuration 18 consists of two switches 14 , 16 that are connected in series.
- the anode or collectors 20 , of switch 14 is connected to the positive terminal of the capacitor 12 and the cathode or emitter of switch 16 is connected to the negative terminal of the capacitor 12 .
- Terminal 24 of the power converter 10 is connected to the mid-point of the half-bridge 18 and terminal 26 is connected to the cathode or collector of switch 16 .
- Output voltage 28 across the power converter 10 is maintained substantially at zero when switch 16 is closed or at the capacitor voltage when switch 14 is closed.
- FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of a voltage waveform 30 across the collectors 20 and 22 ( FIG. 1 ) of switches 16 and 18 ( FIG. 1 ) respectively of the conventional power converter 10 shown in FIG. 1 .
- X-axis 32 represents time and Y-axis 34 represents voltage. As illustrated, the voltage level is substantially equal to the capacitor voltage V when switch 14 is closed or zero when switch 16 is closed.
- FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the conventional power converter 10 wherein the two switches 14 , 16 in the half-bridge configuration 18 ( FIG. 1 ) are coupled to insulation substrates 40 and 42 comprising a thickness T at the collectors of the switches 14 , 16 .
- the insulation substrates 40 and 42 are disposed on the baseplate 36 and the heat sink 38 that is configured to reduce an operating temperature of the switches 14 , 16 .
- the conventional power converter 10 includes one capacitor ((not shown in FIG. 3 )) coupled to two switches 14 , 16 resulting in the voltage across the collectors equal to the capacitor voltage or peak output voltage.
- the voltage stress on the insulation substrates 40 and 42 is high, and the insulation substrates have a thickness T that is required for preventing any voltage breakdown.
- FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a power converter 50 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- the power converter 50 includes an electrical terminal 52 including a positive node 54 and a negative node 56 .
- the electrical terminal 52 comprises an output terminal.
- the power converter 50 includes a switching arrangement 58 that has a first switch 60 and a second switch 62 coupled in parallel to each other to form a first path 64 and a second path 66 .
- the switches 60 , 62 comprise insulated gate bipolar transistors.
- the first switch 60 includes an anode or collector leg 65 , and a cathode or emitter leg 67 , that are coupled respectively to the positive node 54 and the negative node 56 of the electrical terminal 52 .
- the anode or collector 68 and the cathode or emitter 70 of the second switch 62 are coupled in a reverse orientation with respect to the first switch 60 and are coupled to the negative node 56 and the positive node 54 respectively.
- a first energy storage device 72 is coupled in the first path 64
- a second energy storage device 74 is coupled in the second path 66 .
- the energy storage devices 72 , 74 include capacitors that are maintained at substantially equal voltages.
- the peak value of voltage between the collectors of the first switch 60 and the second switch 62 is equal to an individual capacitor voltage, i.e, half of the output voltage, thus reducing the voltage stress on the insulation substrate as compared to the conventional power converters discussed in FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 5 is a graphical representation 80 of the voltage appearing across the collectors of the two switches in the power converter 50 ( FIG. 4 ) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- X-axis 82 depicts time and Y-axis 84 depicts voltage.
- Curve 86 represents the voltage across the collectors in the power converter 50 .
- the voltage across the collectors is substantially equal to the voltage of the energy storage device 72 when switch 62 is closed and equal to the voltage of the energy storage device 74 in reverse when switch 60 is closed.
- the voltage across the collectors can be limited to half the net output voltage.
- FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the power converter 50 ( FIG. 4 ) including two energy storage devices 72 , 74 ( FIG. 4 ) and two switches 60 , 62 , wherein the two switches 60 , 62 are coupled to insulation substrates 88 , 90 comprising a thickness Tnew at the collectors 65 , 68 of the switches 60 , 62 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- the voltage stress on the insulation substrates 88 , 90 reduces as the peak voltage across the collectors is equal to half of the output voltage, the thickness of the insulation substrates 88 , 90 can thus be reduced to Tnew wherein Tnew is lesser than T ( FIG. 3 ).
- the insulation substrates 88 and 90 are disposed on a baseplate 92 and a heat sink 94 that is configured to reduce the operating temperatures of the first switch 60 and the second switch 62 .
- the heat sink 94 operates more efficiently as the distance (Tnew) between the heat sink 94 and the switches 60 , 62 is reduced.
- smaller DC-DC converters may be used for stepping down the DC voltage from individual energy storage elements 72 , 74 for providing power for gating controls of the switches 60 and 62 during operation.
- FIG. 7 is a block diagram representation of a power conversion system 100 including power converter modules 102 .
- the power conversion system 100 includes phase units 104 for each phase of power.
- the phase units 104 are coupled in parallel.
- the power conversion system 100 includes a modular stacked power conversion system.
- Each of the phase units 104 includes an upper converter arm 106 and a lower converter arm 108 that convert power for a distinct phase of an input power.
- Terminals 110 , 112 , 114 are three-phase AC terminals and terminals 120 , 122 are DC terminals.
- the upper converter arm 106 and the lower converter arm 108 are coupled in series through inductive filter elements 124 and 126 .
- Each of the converter arms 106 , 108 further includes power converter modules 102 that are coupled in series to each other.
- each of the power converter modules 102 includes the electrical terminal 52 ( FIG. 4 ) comprising the positive node 54 ( FIG. 4 ) and the negative node 56 ( FIG. 4 ).
- the power converter module 102 also includes the switches 60 , 62 and the energy storage devices 72 and 74 coupled in the configuration 58 as described in FIG. 4 above.
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- Inverter Devices (AREA)
Abstract
An AC-DC power converter is provided. The power converter includes an electrical terminal including a positive node and a negative node. The power converter also includes a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node and a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path. The power converter further includes a first electrical storage device situated in the first path and a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
Description
- The invention generally relates to power conversion systems and, more particularly, to a multilevel power conversion system.
- There is a growing need to transmit power over long distances using high voltage DC (HVDC). Power converters are often used to convert AC power to DC power at the transmitting substation and to convert the transmitted DC power back to AC power at the receiving substation. In one approach, these power converters have a modular multilevel structure where each phase has a stacked arrangement of modules.
- Some multilevel power converters comprise modules that consist of a half-bridge of two switches coupled across a capacitor. The switches in the half-bridge are often semiconductors such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). The IGBT chips in each module are mounted on a baseplate and heat sink with an electrically insulating substrate such as aluminum nitride for cooling. The thickness of the insulation substrate is determined based on the peak voltage present across the collectors of the switches. In embodiments that use a half-bridge across a capacitor, the full capacitor voltage may appear across the collectors of the switches, and thus insulation substrates having increased thicknesses are required. Increasing the thickness of the insulation substrate raises the thermal resistance and reduces the effectiveness of the heat sink and thus the performance of the power converter. In addition, in such embodiments, control power required for the gating and sensing electronics is extracted from the capacitor coupled to the switches. Since the peak voltage at the capacitor is high, high voltage DC-DC converters are required to extract control power. Such high voltage DC-DC converters are bulky and increase system expense.
- Hence, there is a need for an improved system to address the aforementioned issues.
- Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment, an AC-DC power converter is provided. The power converter includes an electrical terminal comprising a positive node and a negative node. The power converter also includes a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node. The power converter also includes a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path. The power converter further includes a first electrical storage device situated in the first path and a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
- In another embodiment, a power conversion system is provided. The power conversion system includes phase units wherein each phase unit comprises an upper converter arm and a lower converter arm configured to convert power for a distinct phase of an input power wherein each converter arm comprises power modules coupled in series to each other and each module comprises a power converter. Each of the power converters includes an electrical terminal comprising a positive node and a negative node. The power converters also include a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node. The power converters also include a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path. The power converters further include a first electrical storage device situated in the first path and a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
- These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a conventional power converter comprising one capacitor and two switches in a half-bridge configuration. -
FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of a voltage waveform appearing across the collectors of the half-bridge switches in a conventional power converter when the switches are turned on and off alternatively. -
FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a conventional power converter wherein the two switches in the half-bridge configuration are coupled to a baseplate and a heat sink through an insulation substrate comprising a thickness T at the collectors of the switches. -
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a power converter including two energy storage devices and two switches in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of the voltage appearing across the collectors of the two switches in a power converter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a power converter including two energy storage devices and two switches, wherein the two switches are coupled to an insulation substrate comprising a thickness Tnew at the collector of the switches in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 7 is a block diagram representation of a power conversion system including power converter modules wherein each of the power converter modules includes a power converter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. - Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The terms “first”, “second”, and the like, as used herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. Also, the terms “a” and “an” do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. The term “or” is meant to be inclusive and mean one, some, or all of the listed items. The use of “including,” “comprising” or “having” and variations thereof herein are meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The terms “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings, and can include electrical connections or couplings, whether direct or indirect. Furthermore, the terms “circuit,” “circuitry,” “controller,” and “processor” may include either a single component or a plurality of components, which are either active and/or passive and are connected or otherwise coupled together to provide the described function.
- Embodiments of the present invention include a power converter that includes an electrical terminal including a positive node and a negative node. The power converter also includes a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node. The power converter also includes a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path. The power converter further includes a first electrical storage device situated in the first path and a second electrical storage device situated in the second path. In one embodiment, the power converter can be used for high power applications in which each of a plurality of power converters is configured to form a module and multiple modules are coupled together to form a modular stacked high power converter.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of aconventional power converter 10 comprising onecapacitor 12 and twoswitches bridge configuration 18. The half-bridge configuration 18 consists of twoswitches collectors 20, ofswitch 14 is connected to the positive terminal of thecapacitor 12 and the cathode or emitter ofswitch 16 is connected to the negative terminal of thecapacitor 12.Terminal 24 of thepower converter 10 is connected to the mid-point of the half-bridge 18 andterminal 26 is connected to the cathode or collector ofswitch 16.Output voltage 28 across thepower converter 10 is maintained substantially at zero whenswitch 16 is closed or at the capacitor voltage whenswitch 14 is closed. -
FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of avoltage waveform 30 across thecollectors 20 and 22 (FIG. 1 ) ofswitches 16 and 18 (FIG. 1 ) respectively of theconventional power converter 10 shown inFIG. 1 .X-axis 32 represents time and Y-axis 34 represents voltage. As illustrated, the voltage level is substantially equal to the capacitor voltage V whenswitch 14 is closed or zero whenswitch 16 is closed. -
FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of theconventional power converter 10 wherein the twoswitches FIG. 1 ) are coupled toinsulation substrates switches insulation substrates baseplate 36 and theheat sink 38 that is configured to reduce an operating temperature of theswitches conventional power converter 10 includes one capacitor ((not shown inFIG. 3 )) coupled to twoswitches insulation substrates -
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of apower converter 50 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Thepower converter 50 includes anelectrical terminal 52 including apositive node 54 and anegative node 56. In one embodiment, theelectrical terminal 52 comprises an output terminal. Thepower converter 50 includes aswitching arrangement 58 that has afirst switch 60 and asecond switch 62 coupled in parallel to each other to form afirst path 64 and asecond path 66. In a specific embodiment, theswitches first switch 60 includes an anode orcollector leg 65, and a cathode oremitter leg 67, that are coupled respectively to thepositive node 54 and thenegative node 56 of theelectrical terminal 52. The anode orcollector 68 and the cathode oremitter 70 of thesecond switch 62 are coupled in a reverse orientation with respect to thefirst switch 60 and are coupled to thenegative node 56 and thepositive node 54 respectively. A firstenergy storage device 72 is coupled in thefirst path 64, and a secondenergy storage device 74 is coupled in thesecond path 66. In a specific embodiment, theenergy storage devices - In operation, due to coupling of the first
energy storage device 72 to thefirst path 64 and the secondenergy storage device 74 to thesecond path 66, the peak value of voltage between the collectors of thefirst switch 60 and thesecond switch 62 is equal to an individual capacitor voltage, i.e, half of the output voltage, thus reducing the voltage stress on the insulation substrate as compared to the conventional power converters discussed inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 5 is agraphical representation 80 of the voltage appearing across the collectors of the two switches in the power converter 50 (FIG. 4 ) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.X-axis 82 depicts time and Y-axis 84 depicts voltage.Curve 86 represents the voltage across the collectors in thepower converter 50. As illustrated, the voltage across the collectors is substantially equal to the voltage of theenergy storage device 72 whenswitch 62 is closed and equal to the voltage of theenergy storage device 74 in reverse whenswitch 60 is closed. Thus the voltage across the collectors can be limited to half the net output voltage. -
FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the power converter 50 (FIG. 4 ) including twoenergy storage devices 72, 74 (FIG. 4 ) and twoswitches switches insulation substrates collectors switches FIG. 4 , the voltage stress on theinsulation substrates insulation substrates FIG. 3 ). The insulation substrates 88 and 90 are disposed on abaseplate 92 and aheat sink 94 that is configured to reduce the operating temperatures of thefirst switch 60 and thesecond switch 62. Theheat sink 94 operates more efficiently as the distance (Tnew) between theheat sink 94 and theswitches energy storage elements switches -
FIG. 7 is a block diagram representation of apower conversion system 100 includingpower converter modules 102. Thepower conversion system 100 includesphase units 104 for each phase of power. In one embodiment, thephase units 104 are coupled in parallel. In a more specific embodiment, thepower conversion system 100 includes a modular stacked power conversion system. Each of thephase units 104 includes anupper converter arm 106 and alower converter arm 108 that convert power for a distinct phase of an input power.Terminals terminals upper converter arm 106 and thelower converter arm 108 are coupled in series throughinductive filter elements 124 and 126. Each of theconverter arms power converter modules 102 that are coupled in series to each other. As discussed above, each of thepower converter modules 102 includes the electrical terminal 52 (FIG. 4 ) comprising the positive node 54 (FIG. 4 ) and the negative node 56 (FIG. 4 ). Thepower converter module 102 also includes theswitches energy storage devices configuration 58 as described inFIG. 4 above. - It is to be understood that a skilled artisan will recognize the interchangeability of various features from different embodiments and that the various features described, as well as other known equivalents for each feature, may be mixed and matched by one of ordinary skill in this art to construct additional systems and techniques in accordance with principles of this disclosure. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
- While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
Claims (11)
1. An AC-DC power converter comprising:
an electrical terminal comprising a positive node and a negative node;
a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node;
a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path;
a first electrical storage device situated in the first path; and
a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
2. The power converter of claim 1 , wherein the electrical terminal comprises an output terminal.
3. The power converter of claim 1 , wherein the first and second switches comprise insulated gate bipolar transistors.
4. The power converter of claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrical storage devices comprise capacitors.
5. A power conversion system comprising;
phase units wherein each phase unit comprises an upper converter arm and a lower converter arm configured to convert power for a distinct phase of an input power,
wherein each converter arm comprises power modules coupled in series to each other and each module comprises a power converter,
wherein each power converter comprises an electrical terminal comprising a positive node and a negative node,
a first switch coupled across the positive node and the negative node,
a second switch coupled in a reverse orientation relative to the first switch and in parallel to the first switch forming a first path and a second path,
a first electrical storage device situated in the first path, and
a second electrical storage device situated in the second path.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the power conversion system comprises a modular stacked power conversion system.
7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the first and second switches comprise insulated gate bipolar transistors.
8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the phase units are coupled in parallel to each other.
9. The system of claim 5 , wherein the upper converter arm and the lower converter arm are coupled in series to each other.
10. The system of claim 5 , wherein the power converter comprises an AC-DC power converter or a DC-AC power converter.
11. The system of claim 5 , wherein the power conversion system comprises a three phase power conversion system.
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US13/484,517 US20130322142A1 (en) | 2012-05-31 | 2012-05-31 | Multilevel power converter |
US14/453,637 US20140347898A1 (en) | 2012-05-31 | 2014-08-07 | Modular multi-level power conversion system with dc fault current limiting capability |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
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US13/484,517 US20130322142A1 (en) | 2012-05-31 | 2012-05-31 | Multilevel power converter |
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US14/453,637 Continuation-In-Part US20140347898A1 (en) | 2012-05-31 | 2014-08-07 | Modular multi-level power conversion system with dc fault current limiting capability |
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KR20170062065A (en) * | 2015-11-27 | 2017-06-07 | 한국전기연구원 | Submodule for HVDC system |
US9941813B2 (en) | 2013-03-14 | 2018-04-10 | Solaredge Technologies Ltd. | High frequency multi-level inverter |
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